2000 Viper RT/10 Suddenly Will Not Shift

Hi all,

I have a 2000 Viper RT/10.

Last night after I was parked at work all day (and we had a low temperature of around 37 degrees F and a high of around 43 F), I placed the car into reverse and backed out of my parking space. The car would then not dis-engage from reverse. The car ended up basically driving itself backward on its own for about 10-15 feet as I tried to apply the brake. I finally had to turn off the ignition to stop the vehicle.

I then turned the vehicle back on, and it tried to keep reversing. I turned the ignition off again to make the vehicle stop.

At that point, I was able to get the shifter into a neutral position. It would then not shift into gear at all. The clutch peddle also felt very "loose", almost as if the clutch peddle did not encounter any resistance.

I restarted the car and let the car idle for about 10-15 minutes, and I tried pumping the clutch pedal about 30 times. At that point, the car would shift into all of the gears. But when I tried to drive in first gear, first gear would not fully engage -- the car would basically try to stall out as I tried to place it into first gear and apply engine power. First gear would not fully engage.

When I turned the car off and tried again about 10 minutes later, the car would not shift at all again. The car would not shift with the ignition on, and the car would not shift with the ignition off. The car was basically locked in neutral.

I left the car at work and got a ride home from someone.

The car has 46,000 miles on it. I'm the third owner. I drive it pretty softly (never any hard driving). No prior clutch issues. No prior driving issues with it. I had maintenance done about 2500 miles ago at a dealer with a Viper Tech -- a coolant change and an oil change. They had not recommended any clutch work.

Any idea what's going on?

I will guess that your clutch fluid level is low..or gone...and that your slave cylinder is shot.

This is not uncommon given the age of the car...and, most often, poor to no maintence of the clutch fluid which is brake fluid.

In my opinion, regular oil changes and an occasional coolant change alone (while a very common scenario)are NOT adequate Viper fluid services. A good Viper Tech will usually point out these things to owners. That said, many techs and service advisors get tired of customers claiming unnecessary services are being pushed on to them.

If your clutch fluid is low, you can try to fill the reservoir with the appropriate fluid and hope to make it it a short distance to your dealer. Otherwise, it may be flatbed time.

One final note: If your clutch fluid reservoir is full, you might check to see if your shifter is solidly bolted in place...especially if it has been modified.

Good luck...and, please post outcome.

Thank you. I kind of wish the Viper Tech would have mentioned it if it were obvious, but I do see what you mean about people citing "unnecessary services" being pushed.

I had my vehicle towed to the local dealer tonight. I had actually used Grapevine Dodge (recommended by others) for service in the past, but I am trying Peters Dodge (the local dealer here) tonight. A local Viper owner recommended Peters Dodge, and Grapevine Dodge is also way too far a tow! I'll keep y'all posted.

Yeah, I would agree with Steve that is sounds like a clutch issue. It's a bit odd that it's locked in neutral with the engine off though. Have you tried shifting to any other gear besides first? I know something the synchro teeth line up just right that it doesn't want to go into a specific gear when you try to shift it with the engine off, but it will usually go into one at least and if you go back and forth a few times it will usually finally "pop" into gear.

The backing up on it's own thing really points towards clutch for me. You have to have the pedal down to start the car, so the car thinks the clutch is engaged if it's letting it start in gear.

Good points. I dropped off the car on Tuesday evening (November 13) at the dealer. They don't have any updates yet. I will advise when I hear something from them.

Edit: When the vehicle was off and it was stuck in neutral, it wouldn't shift to any gear, to better answer MoparMap's question.